Wednesday Son and I drove to North Beach to see Daughter who works on the USS Lexington Museum on the Bay. As I stopped at a stop sign, we looked up to see these monks walking single file and looking rather out of place amid the tourists.
Where had they been? Had they toured the Lex? Were they going to visit the Texas State Aquarium next? Son captured the moment with his phone.
November 1976
FORTY YEARS
We started as strangers with a dance one night,
although neither really liked to dance.
Yet we found magic as we twirled and swayed
to our own version of a country western two-step.
Now we have traveled around the sun forty times
as we flow from season to season together.
Love, laughter, dark moments, loss, joy,
surprises, fear, triumphs,
disappointments, sunshine, magic and music,
wine, travel, cats and kids.
I love you madly still!
May we embrace all the seasons of life
for every day we share.
Happy 40th anniversary!
11/26/2016
October 2016
CHEERS!
Dead of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and in parts of the United States that honors the dead. Traditions include making private ofrendas (altars) to remember and honor the dead and visiting graves with gifts for the departed. A form of it was celebrated in Mexico prior to Spanish colonization and was gradually integrated into the Catholic church’s holidays, All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2).
On October 29 Husband and I attended El Dia de Los Muertos Street Festival in downtown Corpus Christi. Here are photos by Husband, of course.
Entering the festival on a beautiful afternoon.
Cute couple!
Ofrendas (altars) were set up in an old movie theater, the Rialto. This was a public one where people could participate by bringing photos, gifts, chrysanthemums or remembrances of loved ones.
This ofrenda was not traditional but it was playfully wicked.
Flowers and fruit were left out for Harambe, the gorilla who was shot in a Cincinnati zoo this year to save a child.
This beautiful one was for Abraham Lincoln.
This more traditional ofrenda honored many deceased family members.
For a token donation for the restoration of the Rialto Theater, one could choose a paper flower and write a message in memory a loved one. I left a message for a niece who would have appreciated the art.
A happy face!
A handsome hombre!
Not a typical festival couple.
What is a festival without a car show?
Nice Caddy!
Ready to rock and roll!
Mural on the tunnel from uptown to downtown Corpus Christi.
A native American Indian group performed songs accompanied by drums. At the end the older leader reminded us that we are all brothers of this Earth and that we should care of each other as we take care of our home, Earth. We should all be able to agree with that.
“KEEP YOUR FACE ALWAYS TOWARD THE SUNSHINE – AND SHADOWS WILL FALL BEHIND YOU.” – Walt Whitman
Photo by Husband
Photo by Son
Husband and I are silhouetted in the James Turrell tunnel, “The Light Inside,” at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas.
The tunnel connects two buildings of the museum and seems a fairly normal route for pedestrian traffic at first. Then we were enveloped in a light that challenged reality and space as darkness beckoned from either side while the black-clad museum guard urged us to stay on the black walkway. I had visions of the River Styx and was grateful to find that the other side merely led to more museum exhibits with normal lighting.
Learn more about American artist James Turrell’s obsession with light and space here.
DO YOU HAVE A CAPTION TO SUGGEST?
Suggested so far via comments:
“Loving life!” – Eric Tonningsen
“Elegantly simply sleeping platforms. I do adore them. The waterbeds were fine, but darling they were so ‘last year.'” – Belocchio
“Just for once, I would like to see you get the gazelle in the morning.”– John W. Howell
“Why does SHE always get the top bunk?” – crowingcrone
“Can you keep it down to a dull roar please, we’re TRYING to sleep…” – clinock
“Wake me when its over!” – oilpastelsbymary
“She always gets the best spot!” – Andrea Stephenson
“Sweet dreams!” – Virginia Views
“Superbowl and Marti Gras in the same week is just too much!” – philosophermouseofthehedge”
“You just HAD to complain about the thread count on the sheets at the hotel, didn’t you?” – WriterinSoul
“Wake not a sleeping lion – which apparently means (Don’t ask for trouble. It’s safer to leave things as they are) – Chez Shea
In June of 1991 Husband and I took a train from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico to Monterrey, Mexico. The cars were not air-conditioned except for the club car where it was cool and the cervazas were cold.
Husband reluctantly posing for me between cars.
View of Saddleback Mountain from the roof of our hotel.
Neptune Fountain at the Gran Plaza or Macroplaza
Faro del Comercio (Lighthouse of Commerce), a column 230 feet high and 40 feet wide erected to commemorate 100 years of the founding of the Monterrey Chamber of Commerce. At night it was lit by laser.
Note the admonition on the building to “Vote like this – PRI – on July 7.” The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) continued to hold political power in Mexico for seventy years until 2000 when Vicente Fox with PAN (National Action Party ) was elected President of Mexico. Today the PRI has gained back some power with the election of President Enrique Pena Nieto.
The Bishop’s Palace sits on a hill in heart of the city. Built in 1787-90 it was involved in the Mexican-American War as U.S. forces under General Zachary Taylor stormed up the steep hill and overwhelmed the Mexican garrison at the top on September 22, 1846. Now it is a museum – The Regional History Museum. One can drive or walk up to it. We walked and the view of the city was worth it.
Courtyard inside the Bishop’s Palace
The white in the distance is a cemetery. Beyond that is the industrial part of Monterrey.
OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
On Saturday, October 17, I participated in a walk to raise money for the American Cancer Society as a member of the BETTY BOMBERS team from the USS Lexington on the Bay Museum where my daughter works. Husband trailed along to take these photos. My daughter and I walked in honor and in memory of my niece, CHERYL LYLES SMITH, who died in 2012 of cancer. There were 16,000 walkers who raised $460,000; the BETTY BOMBERS raised $5,374. Below are photos that Husband took on a gloriously beautiful South Texas day.
Some of the Betty Bombers getting ready to walk.
Young walkers arriving.
Pink Men from Radiology Associates, a sponsor.
Walkers checking out the booths before the start.
Harbor Bridge and floral sculpture
The Water Garden was turned pink.
Crone and Daughter
Source of the “pink” fountain with the original part of the Art Museum in the background.
Old Glory raised with a pink crane.
They’re off and walking/running along the bay front!
The pink gorilla in the walk.
Cooks walking for a cure! Their aprons read, “Cooking up a recipe for a cure!”
The marina is in the background; many of the boats had pink flags.
This blood hound and his parents wore tutus.
We made it! So did the pink gorilla!
At the pink Corpus Christi fire truck with ribbons for each type of cancer.
Husband/Photographer
This post is dedicated to those who survived breast cancer and to those who fought and lost and to all whose bodies have been marked with cancer of any type.
In the fall of 1989 as part of a class that I took on Mexican folk medicine, I went to Espinazo, Mexico to celebrate anniversary of the death of a curandero(healer), El Nino Fidencio. He died in 1938. All the photos were taken with a disposable camera.
Railroad station in Espinazo
Boys coming into town
This man said he had worked on a ranch in Texas;
I shared my Swisher Sweet cigars with him.
A group fidencistas coming into Espinazo for the festivities;
they carry a banner with Fidencio’s photo.
Loren Rhoads just published on her blog a piece that I wrote, “Crossed Fingers,” about a cemetery in Texas. She has an outstanding blog and is an impressive author. Check out her blog & my piece here and also check out her other writings at lorenrhoads.com
All photos of Pleasant Hill by Jo Nell Huff.
by Jo Nell Huff
“Cemetery! Cross your fingers!”
The admonition floats to the surface of my consciousness like the command of an angel as I see the cemetery ahead on the left. The child within me obediently crosses the middle finger over the index finger of both hands. I continue to drive my car along the freeway at 70 miles per hour.
When I traveled with my family as a child, the females in the car crossed their fingers while passing a cemetery. Father did not participate. Either an older sister or my mother would warn of an approaching cemetery and we would all cross our fingers. I confess that I still do it after these years, even though I know it is foolish. While driving alone, I can boldly cross them without fear of derision. When traveling with fellow passengers…
View original post 1,737 more words
Older women don't disappear. They branch out.
Poetry and Prose by Gabriela Marie Milton #1 Amazon Bestselling Poet & Editor, Award Winning Author, Pushcart Prize Nominee
Words, Sounds and Pictures
Adventures in raising a fabulous gender creative son.
It's just banter
Kate's views on life edited by four opinionated cats
Everybody has a story. Here's a little of mine.
The pagan path. The Old Ways In New Times
A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Lao Tzu
An Arts-Filled, Tasty And Sometimes-Loopy Jaunt Through Life
Read this, not that!
Highs and lows of life.
Live life of your choice
Musings on Life - Creative Writing - Environment
Images and Incidentals
British blogger posting about my Trips, Travels & Thoughts
Sharing books
THE COASTAL CRONE 